Knox College resolves 6 Title IX complaints

Tuesday

Jul 31, 2018 at 3:59 PMAug 1, 2018 at 10:16 AM

GALESBURG — Knox College has resolved six Title IX complaints with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education.

In a letter to the Knox College community that doubled as a news release, Knox College President Teresa Amott announced the development Monday. Title IX refers to the section of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education and has been extended to cover sexual violence.

The resolution comes after the OCR began its investigation in early 2014 with reviewing information such as Knox's policies and procedures regarding sexual misconduct and other forms of sex discrimination; information from students and college representatives; and information related to Title IX training provided to the college community.

While the OCR identified concerns, it also found that Knox College "recognized and took affirmative steps to address and resolve" concerns such as delays in processing some complaints and Knox's Title IX policies and grievance procedures in effect at that time, the news release said.

Prior to the resolution, Knox already had: revised its campus grievance procedure to use a trained, trauma-informed investigator instead of a grievance panel; added confidential resources on campus and clarify available interim and protective measures on campus; and added more awareness education for students, faculty and staff, such as annual and ongoing training opportunities in addition to bystander prevention training and specialized training for those addressing reports of sexual misconduct.

Knox will deliver a report to the OCR by June 30, 2019, that will document the annual and ongoing education and training programs to employees and students.

Further, the college also will send individual letters to each student involved in the complaints covered by the agreement to resolve all the cases. That letter will explain "the ways in which [the College's] grievance process has been revised to meet the Title IX requirements for complainants and respondents, and ... offer each student an opportunity to meet to share concerns regarding their respective experiences" by Sept. 15, the news release said.

While this agreement resolves six cases, the OCR also told Knox about the outcome of three other cases. Those are: one was administratively closed by the OCR; one was dismissed because comparable allegations had been raised in a lawsuit that was resolved in Knox's favor; and one did not establish a violation of Title IX after evidence was collected.

That leaves three Title IX cases pending with the OCR, the release said.

"The improvements we have made over the past few years at Knox are powered in large measure by student-driven initiatives. I want to thank the students who participated in the OCR's investigation for their determination to change our College for good," Amott wrote.

"The resolution of these complaints does not end the work of ensuring that our actions match our values. I know I speak for all of us at Knox in recognizing that a respectful and safe learning community is a shared responsibility and in committing ourselves to that essential work."